Indonesian Tofu Satés

Description:

Here we skewer and broil cubes of extra-firm tofu and serve them with peanut sauce for a vegetarian version of the popular Indonesian street food. The accompanying peanut sauce is filled with exquisite sweet, hot and salty flavors but omits the often-used coconut milk, which is high in saturated fat. This flexible recipe works with tofu or chicken. If serving a group with some vegetarians and some meat eaters, prepare half chicken and half tofu and marinate them separately.

Preparation:

1

Combine kecap manis, soy sauce, garlic, oil, vinegar, cumin and coriander in a small bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade in a medium bowl. Place tofu in a large sealable plastic bag. Pour the remaining marinade into the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

2

Add peanut butter, water, ketchup and hot sauce to taste to the reserved marinade and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3

Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler. Line a broiler pan or baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.

4

Remove the tofu from the marinade and thread equal amounts onto six 12-inch skewers. (If using wooden skewers, cover the exposed end of each skewer with foil to prevent burning.) Broil the skewers until the tofu is heated through, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Serve the satés with the reserved peanut sauce for dipping.

Tips:

Ingredient note: Kecap manis is a thick, palm sugar-sweetened soy sauce. It’s used as a flavoring, marinade or condiment in Indonesian cooking. Find it in Asian food markets or online at importfood.com. To substitute for kecap manis, whisk 1 part molasses with 1 part reduced-sodium soy sauce.